Dispenser for viscous liquids

ABSTRACT

A viscous liquid dispenser (1) having a dispensing container (6) with a dispenser bottom (2) having a multiplicity of drainage holes (3) a grooved track (5) within the inside wall of the dispensing container parallel to and above the dispenser bottom, and a slidable damming plate (4) having a multiplicity of drainage holes (3) which is mounted in the grooved track and is capable of sliding between a closed position (FIG. 2) wherein the drainage holes of the slidable damming plate and the dispenser bottom are not aligned and an open position (FIG. 3) wherein the drainage holes of the slidable damming plate and the dispenser bottom are aligned is provided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is a great need for a device which rapidly and efficientlydispenses viscous liquids into containers for a great variety ofapplications. This need is especially great in Drosophila sp.laboratories where large volumes of hot media are dispensed into vialson a daily basis. There is also a need for such a device inmicrobiological laboratories which require large volumes of hot mediafor culture vials and plates. Of course, such a need also exists inother areas such as the cosmetic industry and food industry. Prior artdevices for dispensing viscous liquids are relatively expensive, havemany moving parts and may require energy sources to operate. Prior artmedia dispensing devices include peristaltic and piston driven pumps.

The present invention, however, rapidly and efficiently dispensesviscous liquids into selected containers in only a fraction of the timeand cost required by piston or peristaltic pump devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a device comprised of a dispensing container havingeither a fixed or removable dispenser bottom with multiple drainageholes adapted to correspond to selected pre-packaged containers orsorted containers to be filled. A damming plate having drainage holestherein and slidable on a grooved track above said dispenser bottom isalso included. While in the closed position, neither set of drainageholes (in the damming plate or the dispenser bottom) align which retainsthe viscous liquid in the container. In the open position, the drainageholes in the damming plate and dispenser bottom are aligned to allow thegravity transfer of the liquid into the selected containers placed belowthe device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a is a side view of a viscous liquid dispenser illustrating thedamming plate in a closed position.

FIG. 1b is an enlarged view of the viscous liquid dispenser of FIG. 1awhich shows the damming plate in a closed position with respect to thebottom of the dispenser.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the viscous liquid dispenser provided in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the viscous liquid dispenser illustrating thedamming plate in an open position.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of a dispensingcontainer having a dispenser bottom which is removable and can beinterchanged with other dispenser bottoms having differentconfigurations, numbers or sizes of drainage holes. In this Figure, thedispenser bottom has been removed.

FIG. 5a is a side view of a preferred embodiment of a viscous liquiddispenser having a first configuration of an interchangeable, removabledispenser bottom and an interchangeable, slidable damming plate.

FIG. 5b shows replacement of the first configuration of theinterchangeable, removable dispenser bottom and interchangeable slidabledamming plate depicted in FIG. 5a with a dispenser bottom and dammingplate having a second configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now in specific detail to the drawings, in which likereference numbers identify similar or identical elements, FIGS. 1-5illustrate embodiments of a media dispenser shown generally at 1. Insimplest terms, the viscous liquid dispenser 1 can be broken down into adispensing container 6 having a dispenser bottom 2 with a multiplicityof drainage holes 3, a damming plate 4 with a multiplicity of drainageholes 3 and a grooved track 5. The embodiment depicted by FIGS. 1-3 isadapted for and particularly useful in dispensing media into 23different containers, the openings of which are depicted in FIG. 3 asdotted lines. However, as will be clear to one of skill in the art, theshape of the dispensing container and the number of drainage holes 3 canbe easily altered in both the dispenser bottom 2 and the damming plate 4so that the configuration and number of containers which can be filledat the same time can be altered. In this viscous liquid dispenser, thedamming plate 4 is slidably mounted in a grooved track 5 along theinside wall of the dispensing container 6 just above the dispenserbottom so that the damming plate 4 can be slid between an open positionwherein the drainage holes 3 of the damming plate 4 are aligned with thedrainage holes 3 in the dispenser bottom 2 as depicted in FIG. 3 and aclosed position wherein the drainage holes 3 of the damming plate 4 arenot aligned with the drainage holes 3 of the dispenser bottom 2 asdepicted in FIG. 2.

The viscous liquid dispenser 1 of the present invention is designed fordispensing any viscous liquid into multiple containers simultaneously.The dispenser of the present invention is especially useful indispensing hot media for laboratories where large numbers of containerscontaining media are used, for example in labs where Drosophila sp. arestudied. It is also useful for the rapid dispensing of bacterial media.Of course, as will be obvious to one of skill in the art, the dispenseris useful in any area wherein there is a need to dispense a viscousliquid into multiple containers simultaneously, for example in thecosmetic or food industry.

The dispensing container 6 of the viscous liquid dispenser 1 of thepresent invention can have any size and shape adapted for selectedcontainers to be filled with the liquid. In a preferred embodiment thedispensing container is comprised of a heat-retaining material, such asaluminum or stainless steel. Other materials which may be used include,but are not limited to, copper, stable plastics and ceramic. Appropriatematerials may be selected in accordance with the viscous liquid whichwill be dispensed. For example, if the viscous liquid must be sterile, amaterial which is suitable for autoclaving may be selected. Thedispensing container 6 has a dispenser bottom 2 having a multiplicity ofdrainage holes 3 therein. In one embodiment, as depicted in FIGS. 1-3,the dispenser bottom 2 is fixed and continuous with the sides of thedispensing container 6. In another embodiment, as depicted in FIGS. 4-5,the dispenser bottom 2 is removable and can be interchanged with otherdispenser bottoms having different configurations, numbers or sizes ofdrainage holes. In this embodiment, the dispenser bottom slides into adispenser bottom groove 7 along the bottom of the inside walls of thedispensing container so that it can be interchanged with other dispenserbottoms. In this embodiment, the slidable damming plate 4 is alsointerchangeable so that the configuration, number and size of drainageholes in the dispenser bottom 2 and damming plate 4 can be matchedaccordingly. On the inside wall of the dispensing container 6 is agrooved track 5 running parallel and just above the dispenser bottom 2.A slidable damming plate 4 having a multiplicity of drainage holes 3which is capable of moving between an open and closed position ismounted in the grooved track 5 parallel to and above the dispenserbottom 2. The device has an open and a closed position. In the closedposition, the drainage holes 3 in the damming plate 4 and the dispenserbottom 2 are not aligned so that any liquid placed in the dispensingcontainer 6 is retained in the dispensing container 6. In the openposition, the damming plate 4 is slid to a position wherein the drainageholes 3 in the damming plate 4 and the dispenser bottom 2 are aligned sothat any liquid placed in the dispensing container 6 can flow throughthe drainage holes 3 and into containers placed beneath the viscousliquid dispenser 1 and aligned with the drainage holes 3 in thedispenser bottom 2.

In one embodiment, the viscous liquid dispenser of the present inventionis adapted to fit snugly over prepackaged disposable vials such asdisposable polystyrene vials (AS-516, 10×10 row tray configuration;Applied Scientific, San Francisco, Calif.). Applied Scientific and manyother vendors produce various polystyrene and K-resin prepackaged vialsto which the device of the present invention can be readily adapted.

In another embodiment, the viscous liquid dispenser is adapted to fitover glass vials such as 8-dram diameter Kimball Kimax vials. In thisembodiment, the vials can be stacked, for example, in 8×19 rows in astainless steel #3 mesh, 18 gauge welded wire basket, 141/2 incheswide×101/2 inches deep×21/2 inches high and having a 6 gauge top rim(Allentown Caging Co., Inc. (ACE), Allentown, N.J.). The device can alsobe adapted to fit over prepackaged Kimax vials, 144 per pack (model#60931-8, Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, Pa.).

In yet another embodiment, the viscous liquid device is adapted to fitover bottles, such as one-half pint bottles, which have been stacked inwire baskets.

However, as will be apparent to one of skill in the art, there are manytypes and sizes of glass and plastic containers available to which thedevice can be adapted based upon the teachings of the invention.Prepackaged containers can be filled using the device of this inventionwhich is adapted to be of the size and shape dictated by the packagingdimensions. Bulk containers can be stacked to any dimension needed bythe user and the device adapted to a size and shape of appropriatedimensions.

In another embodiment, petri dishes of any size and shape can be filledby placing the device upon a slightly elevated stationary or rollingplatform. The petri dishes can be placed on trays which are slidableunder a stationary platform, or the device can be rolled down a tabletop rowed with dishes to achieve the same effect. In either case, thedevice is adapted to a size appropriate for the dishes to be filled.Examples of petri dishes which can be filled using the present inventioninclude, but are not limited to, circular dishes with a diameter anddepth in millimeters of 35×10, 50×9, 60×15, 100×15, 100×20 and 150×15and square dishes 100×15 mm in size.

The device of the invention provides a rapid gravity transfer of viscousliquids into multiple containers simultaneously in a fraction of thetime required by other devices. For example, the device can dispensemedia into vials of 10 to 15 ml or bottles of 35 to 50 ml at a rate of 4to 15 seconds, as compared to 2 to 4 minutes for peristaltic or pistondriven pump devices. Accordingly, the present invention provides a moreefficient and cost effective device for dispensing viscous liquids intoa variety of containers.

What is claimed:
 1. A viscous liquid dispenser comprising:a) adispensing container having an inside and outside wall and a dispenserbottom; b) said dispenser bottom having a multiplicity of drainageholes; c) a grooved track within said inside wall of said dispensingcontainer parallel to and above said dispenser bottom; and d) a slidabledamming plate having a multiplicity of drainage holes mounted in saidgrooved track which is capable of sliding between a closed positionwherein said drainage holes of said slidable damming plate and saiddispenser bottom are not aligned and a open position wherein saiddrainage holes of said slidable damming plate and said dispenser bottomare aligned so that any viscous liquid in the dispensing container isdispensed via gravity transfer to containers beneath the viscous liquiddispenser when said slidable damming plate is in the open position. 2.The viscous liquid dispenser of claim 1 wherein said dispensingcontainer is comprised of a heat retaining material.
 3. The viscousliquid dispenser of claim 1 wherein size of the dispenser container andthe multiplicity of drainage holes in the dispenser bottom and thedamming plate are configured to dispense liquid to a tray configurationof prepackaged disposable vials.
 4. The viscous liquid dispenser ofclaim 1 wherein size of the dispenser container and the multiplicity ofholes in the dispenser bottom and the damming plate are configured todispense liquid to glass vials stacked in rows in a wire basket.
 5. Theviscous liquid dispenser of claim 1 wherein size of the dispensercontainer and the multiplicity of drainage holes in the dispenser bottomand the damming plate are configured to dispense media to bottlesstacked in wire baskets.
 6. The viscous liquid dispenser of claim 1wherein size of the dispenser container and the multiplicity of drainageholes in the dispenser bottom and the damming plate are configured todispense liquid to petri dishes.
 7. A viscous liquid dispensercomprising:a) a dispensing container having an inside and outside wall,an open top and an interchangeable, removable dispenser bottom; b) saidinterchangeable, removable dispenser bottom having a multiplicity ofdrainage holes; c) a grooved track within said inside wall of saiddispensing container parallel to and above said dispenser bottom; and d)at least one interchangeable, slidable damming plate having amultiplicity of drainage holes mounted in said grooved track which iscapable of sliding between a closed position wherein said drainage holesof said slidable damming plate and said dispenser bottom are not alignedand a open position wherein said drainage holes of said slidable dammingplate and said dispenser bottom are aligned.
 8. The viscous liquiddispenser of claim 7 wherein said dispensing container is comprised of aheat retaining material.